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The Cardiff Bay Experience Since the completion of the barrage in about 2000, Cardiff Bay has been a wonderful amenity for the people of Wales and visitors, and is probably now the centrepiece of the principality. In place of the unsightly mud flats, left exposed at every low tide, the Bristol Channel being second only to the Bay of Fundy in its tidal range, there is now a man made lake covering an area of 500 acres, and eight miles of waterfront, and I urge everyone vacationing in this part of the world to pay The Bay a visit. Getting there from Cardiff city centre is relatively easy. I say “relatively” easy, because Cardiff City bus service routes are not that easy to understand. My recommendation would be to get aboard the Number 6, “bendy” bus, and alight at “The Millennium Centre”, which will actually be behind the Millennium Centre, or stay on the bus to the next stop, which will be “The Lightship”, from which it is but a short walk to the centre of the Bay, which is Mermaid Quay. If you choose to alight at the first stop, you walk past the Wales Millennium Centre, which is supposed to be the centrepiece of the development. This ugly building belongs to no known architectural style, and the architect who designed it ought to be forced to live in house designed by le Corbusier. The Centre not only houses the National Assembly for Wales (the governing body of the principality), but a concert hall that is home to the Welsh National Opera. It is also the venue for popular music bands and contemporary and traditional theatre, and includes restaurants and coffee bars. Leaving The Centre, it is but a short walk around or through the sunken area to Mermaid Quay, where all of the best restaurants and shops will be found. Many of these are very high quality eateries, but my favourite is probably the Bayside Brasserie, which not only serves wonderful food, but also allows spectacular views over the bay from its tables. Walking further along Mermaid Quay brings you to the pier, which gives excellent views of water born activity in the bay, and Techniquest, an educational science and discovery centre, which will be of especial interest to children. At the other side of the bay, will be found The Norwegian Church, which dates originally from the early years of the last century, and which is now used for arts venues, and The Doctor Who Experience, which features characters and souvenirs from the long-running British television sci-fi programme, of which one series was actually set in The Bay. If you want to visit the Norwegian Church and/or the Doctor Who Experience, you can either stay on the Number 6 bendy-bus to the next stop after The Lightship stop, or walk from the lightship stop. They are not very far. The lightship, incidentally, has been converted into a café. On fine days too, the walk along the barrage to the locks that let vessels enter from, and leave into, The Bristol Channel, is a very pleasant experience, and can be even more so when there is a lot of small craft activity in The Bay. (Allow at least an hour for this walk.) Boat trips around The Bay are, of course, available in fine weather, and there is a high-speed boat trip for the really adventurous. My guidebook: Corners of Wales and Monmouthshire has a section devoted to Cardiff Bay. There also a number of photos of The Bay on my blog. Dick Morris Books
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Cardiff, Wales, Cardiff Bay, travel, destinations,
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